Sermon Tone Analysis

There are a lot of things that we can and have taken away from these pages in scripture.

However, there are only two things we are going to look at today. 1) The willingness of an individual to submit to God’s will and 2) That God is close to those that are seen as the powerless and the forgotten in this world.

Biblical Text -

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - A Person Who Is Willing To Serve Will Also Experience The Closeness Of God.

Life Point- The Willingness Of Mary To Serve God

Exegetical -

I am not sure about you, but if I were to come into my house and there is this Holy Angel surrounded by the glory of God in my house I would have been in awe, fear, and a bit stammering.

Think about this a minute.

Here is a young girl and I say girl because that is what she was.

She was barely a teenager by our standards.

She comes in to the place and here is an angel & the first thing he says is “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

I would certainly been a little fearful too.

What a jarring experience.

But that isn’t the half of what is about to transpire here.

I looked up the word troubled and the definition doesn’t really convey the emotion of this miraculous event.

Troubled here is defined in the Greek as being acutely distressed and mentally disturbed.

I would say she was freaking out, afraid, and yes troubled.

Then she was like, “what does he mean by this greeting?”

What is he saying, what is going on here.

Rather than going straight ahead with the message, I think Gabriel noticed that the girl was in shock, just over his appearing and his greeting.

So he tries to comfort her and says “don’t be afraid.”

Now think about this.

If you say to me “don’t be afraid” the first thing that hits my mind is uh-oh something big is about to happen.

Now for me, when someone says that it is like OK now I am afraid.

Kind of like when someone asks “Are you sitting down?

NO, you might want to sit down for a minute.”

Then the rest of this sentence is “don’t be afraid, you have found favor with God.” Now first of all, we looking back know that this could go either way.

We know that anytime in the Old Testament the angels showed up there was big task ahead of us, and it won’t be easy or pain free.

We know that the Israelites will be either happy or angry depending on what the next thing is that God will have us do.

Either way we are elated at the moment because an angel just said “you have found favor with God.”

But now here comes the astounding part.

Now, Mary isn’t dumb, she knows how babies are made so she asks a very important question.

You see virgin birth is far from her mind here.

She is like every other person in Israel.

They were looking for a political figure, a conquering king to throw off Roman Oppression.

So she is thinking.

You mean I am going to conceive a child who is going to be the saviour of my people?

Well thats great!

One problem, Gabriel.

I’m not married and have not known a man.

So you point me in the right direction and speed up this marriage thing with Joseph and we will get right on this promise of the Messiah.

But how many times does God do something that makes sense to us?

Not many right?

You know what is interesting here is how willing Mary was to serve God in whatever capacity she was given.

She knows that in her day being pregnant without a husband is certainly going to cost her a lot, especially if Joseph decides not to take her as a wife.

Her social standing will be ruined, if she isn’t stoned to death first because she came up pregnant without being married.She was betrothed to a man at this point.

Legal things have taken place.

Promises have been made.

She broke her solemn word and now could be treated as a woman caught in adultery and could have been stoned to death.

Plus, without Joseph marrying her who would believe in a virgin birth?

Would you?

Of course not.

Thankfully we know that Joseph who was going to put her away quietly was visited by an angel and he took her as his wife.

You see despite all the social pressures that existed, despite the foolishness this event was to the world.

Mary was willing to trust God, as was Joseph.

In that moment her friend, family, and upcoming nuptials didn’t matter.

It was whatever God wanted is what she would do.

One was the last time you said to God.

God, not whatever I want but whatever is your will that will I do.\

Jesus had this same moment with the father when he prayed in the Garden the night before his crucifixion where he sweated drops of blood, knowing that not only would He die for something He didn’t do, but that the actual sins of those in the entire world, throughout history, were about to be put on Him.

He was about to become the sin offering so that we could be made and seen clean before the Father.

Have you ever said, knowing that it might well cost you everything you have, maybe even your sanity said to God; not what I want father, but whatever your will is that is what I want to do.

Help me to do it.

If you have never come to the end of yourself and found Jesus standing there ready to change you if you but ask, then why not today?

If a teenage girl can have her life radically changed by God, why not you?

Life Point - The Reality Of How Personal God Is

Exegetical -

Homiletical -

Just a couple of things here that I would like to note.

First, notice that our saviour didn’t come from Royalty or from the Sadducees or Pharisees.

He came from the common man.

He came for everyone.

Not just the elite.

On the night of his birth there were angels that appeared to the shepherds.

Those that were just doing their jobs.

This day started out as a day unlike any other for them.

They would have been the last ones according to the world’s standards that you would want to reveal Christ to.

They were the lowliest of the low.

They weren’t the movers and shakers of their society, they were nobodies.

The God we serve is concerned for the lowliest of the lowliest of people.

Not just the rich and the powerful.

We are not just another number to God.

We are individuals.

We are personal and God wants to have a personal relationship with each of us.

He wants to change our personal worlds so that when God becomes real to us we do what the shepherds did.

They weren’t quiet.

They were praising God.

The Greek here means to speak of something that is unusually honorable.

This was an unusual event.

To glorify and praise is not to be quiet or timid about something, but to speak loudly and honorably about something.

People aren’t supposed to be quiet when it comes to a personal saviour.

We are to be loud about the change that He has made inside of us.

We are to be loud about the power that He demonstrates in making us new.

You see you were heading along minding your own sinful business and Jesus came in and you turned the other way.

You were made new.

For all your problems, mistakes and hypocrisies that still plague you.

You can say that I am a blood bought child of God.

Past, present, and future.

From now to forevermore.